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NATIONAL CURRICULUMKEY STAGE 3 HISTORYTHE NORMAN INVASION AND CONQUESTINTERACTIVEHow did the Norman Invasion and Conquest change England?

1The Norman Invasion and Conquest Interactive

Contenders for the throneHarold Godwinson was the Earl of Wessex.He was the most powerfulEarl in England and was Edward the Confessors Brother-in-Law. He was English.Harald Hadrada was the grandson of Cnut a former king of England. He also felt that he might get some supportfrom Viking families in the North of England.William of Normandywas Edward the Confessors cousin and was promised the throne by him. He had helped Edward in the past. William was Duke of Normandy.

Edward the Confessor, the King of England, died on 5 January 1066. Harold Godwinson, the Earl of Wessex wanted to be the next king. He was the most important noble in the land. Harold knew that gaining the throne was not going to be easy. Two other men claimed that the throne belonged to them. One was William of Normandy; the other was Harold Hardrada, the Viking King of Norway.

Who should be the next king of England?1236123

The death and funeral of Edward the Confessor. Contenders for the throne2A movie file is always linked from its source location; it is not part of your presentation file.The English army was tired after fighting at Stamford Bridge.Harold died, and his army was weak without him.The wind changed, and so the Normans managed to cross the Channel while Harold was still in the north. William used the very clever trick of retreating down the hill to make the English follow and break the shield wall. Some of King Harolds best fighters died at the Battle of Stamford Bridge. The Fyrd was not experienced or disciplined.William had archers and cavalry to attack Harold's army.19

The Norman Invasion and Conquest Interactive

The death of Harold Godwinson at the Battle of Hastings from A Chronicle of England, 1864.

3Caution: If you hide the movie or drag it off the slide, you won't have access to it in a slide show. Be sure you've set the movie to start automatically or that you've created some kind of control on the slide to play it, such as a button. (Lesson 2 discusses such buttons.) The movie frame is always visible in normal view.

King William was a very stern and violent man. No one dared do anything against the Kings will. He put nobles who annoyed him into prison. He built castles and cruelly kept the poor people down.

Anglo-Saxon Chronicle.

During Williams reign the great cathedral at Canterbury was built. Any man was allowed to become a monk, no matter how rich or poor he was. We must not forget the good order he kept in the land.

Peterborough Chronicle

Never did William show such cruelty. He did not trouble to restrain his resentment, striking down the innocent and guilty alike with an equal fury. In this manner all the sources of life north of the Humber were destroyed.

Orderic Vitalis, usually an admirer of WilliamSOURCE ASOURCE CSOURCE B

Listen to Source AListen to Source BListen to Source C41GCSE Modern World History USA 1941-1980

William : Hero or Villain?42The Norman Invasion and Conquest Interactive

5Caution: If you hide the movie or drag it off the slide, you won't have access to it in a slide show. Be sure you've set the movie to start automatically or that you've created some kind of control on the slide to play it, such as a button. (Lesson 2 discusses such buttons.) The movie frame is always visible in normal view.